Friday, December 5, 2008

Armed robbers - some dressed as women - escaped with more than £70million worth of jewellery in Paris in one of Europe's biggest ever heists.As many as four masked men wielding sawn-off shotguns stormed into the exclusive Harry Winston jewellers in a high-speed raid described by detectives as 'terrifyingly efficient'.

Within minutes the gang had vanished - without a shot being fired - on powerful motorbikes parked close to the shop in the city's upmarket Avenue Montaigne, close to the Champs Elysees, yesterday evening.Police said the meticulously prepared robbers knew all the store staff's names, which jewels were the most valuable, and the location of the shop's strong-box where the most precious items were kept.At least three of the men were dressed as women. The raiders were also speaking a foreign language which police believe may have been Serbo-Croat or a a dialect of Russian.

The raid at 5.30pm on Thursday was the largest ever gems theft in French history and one of the most lucrative armed holds-ups ever in the world.

Wow...this is the second robbery with virtually the same modus operandi in 14 months.